Increasingly, companies have come to depend upon the distribution of discounted products to the public in order to acquaint prospective purchasers with the merits of their products, and to otherwise stimulate sales. Such discounts often take the form of coupons good for credit at the time of purchase, or rebates redeemable thereafter. Such merchandising methods have become particularly important to vendors of food products since the nature of such products can basically only be determined by a taste test, as opposed to visual inspection.
While coupon redemption and rebating has become a valuable merchandising tool for fostering enhanced retail sales, the dispensing of free samples has also become increasingly common. Sample giveaways provide particularly powerful sales stimulation since the buying public is strongly attracted to any offer of free merchandise.
Free samples can sometimes take the form of a limited quantity of product mailed directly to the consumer, or they are often provided by company representatives passing the samples out directly to passersby in public areas. While both methods have proven effective, they suffer from certain inherent drawbacks. For example, packaging and mailing costs have risen steadily in the past, as have wages required in the case of distribution by representatives. In addition, it is often difficult to target the most promising segment of the buying public with such methods, making it necessary to distribute samples to the public indiscriminately, proportionately increasing the cost of reaching a desired market.
In the case of some products, it has been found that distribution at the point of sale provides the most efficient way in which to distribute free samples since the individuals most likely to be receptive to the product are the only ones to whom distribution is made. Furthermore, distribution can be carried out without any need to engage special personnel for the purpose.
Where the dispensing of samples is carried out at the point of sale, it is commonly done by providing a container filled with the product being given away at the point of sale location, for example, placed on the counter or a pedestal. Individuals patronizing the location simply help themselves to the samples made available to them. Such a system works particularly well in the case where small articles are to be distributed, such as candy mints, chewing gum, and similar articles. Unfortunately, however, providing unrestricted access to such products to members of the public can also present problems. For example, some individuals take the opportunity to help themselves to more than a single sample, often taking a handful or more. Such behavior is frequently not deterred by signs, or even by social pressure, and it causes such sample distribution methods to be prohibitively expensive.